Mukono enforces PWDs accessibility by-law

Authorities in Mukono District have started to enforce the Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) accessibility by-law that was passed three years ago.

The ordinance prohibits construction of public buildings and facilities which lack pathways accessible by people with disabilities.

According to the Mukono District speaker, Mr Emmanuel Mbonye, many of the developers currently constructing new buildings in Mukono ensure that they establish facilities such as well-dimensioned stair cases, ramps, adequate rails and pathways accessible by people with disabilities.

He cited a newly constructed maternity ward at Mukono Health IV and new toilets at the municipal council offices which are accessible by PWDs easily.
“We are also sensitising residents in different villages in Mukono to put up structures accessible by PWDs,” Mr Mbonye said in an interview with Daily Monitor on Monday.

Mr Edward Kaweesa, a district councillor for Ntunda Sub-county, said he was happy that the by-law they passed is being implemented.
“For a very long time, PWDs have been marginalised yet they are like other people in the community and they too have a right to access public places,” he said.

Background
A similar by-law was first passed by Nnabbaale Sub-county Council in Mukono District, that later persuaded their colleagues at the district to do the same.

Ms Annet Nakanwangi, a district councillor for PWDs, appealed to councillors in other districts to emulate their counterparts in Mukono and pass the same by-law, saying it will not only benefit PWDs, but also the elderly, pregnant women, children, and sick people who have no strength to climb stairs.
“We have set the pace as Mukono and we hope other districts can borrow a leaf,” she said

PWDs
Accessibility. A 2007 building and construction report by the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication revealed that 95 per cent of the buildings in Kampala, Mpigi and Wakiso districts are not accessible by PWDs.
The law. According to the Persons with Disability Act (2006), it is the responsibility of all organs in the public or private institutions to provide suitable entrances and exits for PWDs and universal standards or designs for public toilets.
Section 20 of the Act puts a responsibility on every person who constructs a building for public use to ensure that PWDs have access